Sr. Director Product Development

Pendleton Woolen Mills Inc•Portland, OR

About The Position

Pendleton has been woven in the West since 1863. Built on a legacy of craft, quality, and authenticity, our products are known for their timeless design and enduring stories. As we continue to evolve, we’re seeking a Senior Director of Product Development to lead and shape the future of our product creation across all categories. As a senior leader on the Product team reporting into the Chief Product Officer, this role is responsible for defining and executing a holistic product development strategy aligned with Pendleton’s brand DNA of effortless, storied, and timeless design. You’ll balance long-term strategic thinking with hands-on leadership of the product creation calendar, ensuring product-to-design intent, quality, margin, and timeline expectations are met. You’ll collaborate across department leaders with a multi-season time horizon perspective while delivering measurable business impact. In this role, you’ll lead, mentor, and inspire a highly technical development organization across Technical Design, Development, Product Integrity, Packaging, and Materials. You’ll oversee the full product development process from concept handoff through bulk commercialization, guiding teams to turn product concepts into reality while accelerating business growth and excellence in product.

Requirements

Strong product acumen with end-to-end knowledge of apparel product development, including design, development, costing, sourcing, and manufacturing, with cut-and-sew experience preferred
Excellence in project planning and management, with ability to manage multiple timelines and deadlines
Experience with a PLM system
Working knowledge of spec packages, BOMs, grading, and fit
Ability to create appropriate urgency to deliver short- and long-term results
Proven ability to build a collaborative, supportive, and high-performance team culture
Excellent collaboration and communication skills across all levels of the organization
Growth mindset with enthusiasm for learning new tools and solving complex problems
Strong leadership capability with a track record of developing future leaders and retaining diverse, high-performing teams
Proactive, values-driven problem solver with strong root-cause orientation
Decisive leadership style with comfort making tough decisions and taking calculated risks
Passion for your work matched by passion for the brand
Bachelor’s Degree in Design, Engineering, Manufacturing, or related field
15+ years of progressive experience in Product Development or Technical Design in Apparel and/or Interiors
10 years of managerial experience leading a team of 8 or more individuals
Experience with a PLM system
Working knowledge of digital product creation tools
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)

Responsibilities

Lead the development organization across Technical Design, Development, Product Integrity, Packaging, and Materials teams
Own and manage seasonal development timelines, including adjustments and communication of calendar changes
Lead the tactical execution of the product creation calendar to reliably deliver on design intent, quality, margin, and timeline expectations
Partner closely with Product Management, Design, Sourcing, and key stakeholders to drive efficiency across margin, quality, delivery, and timing
Define, manage, and track the department operating budget
Establish and uphold best practices across costing, sampling, digital product creation, technical design, fit, pattern, product integrity, and compliance
Oversee development dashboards and KPIs for executive visibility and decision making
Monitor progress against plans, course-correct as needed, and clearly communicate impacts to leadership and cross-functional partners
Make decisive trade-off decisions that protect brand standards and long-term value
Lead the full product development process through handoff to bulk commercialization
Set clear scope, KPIs, deliverables, and resource plans to enable strong team execution
Build a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement while supporting professional growth